"Tsk."
Kamuro Masumi clicked her tongue in annoyance: "As expected, people from Class B aren't so easily intimidated."
Hikigaya was a bit surprised.
It sounds like they've intimidated quite a few people.
Looking at it this way, the two girls in front of him probably aren't doing this on purpose, but rather it's Class A's overall strategy.
Anyway, they just try whatever; if they can find useful intelligence, so much the better.
Clearly.
Class A isn't just using defensive strategies; they're also interested in the leaders of the other classes.
"There's no other way."
Kamuro Masumi leaned in and suggested: "If you can reveal Class B's leader, we can give you personal points. And it's 200,000 or 300,000—a high amount of points, enough for you to live comfortably for a year. How about it?"
"Really?"
Hikigaya was excited for a moment, but then felt it wasn't quite right.
"Of course it's true."
Kamuro Masumi said with a smile at the corner of her mouth: "You can rest assured. Although we can't transfer it to you directly right now, we can sign a contract."
"Cough, cough..."
Hikigaya coughed a few times to hide his awkwardness. It was all because 300,000 personal points were too tempting; he almost lost his composure.
"Actually, Class B's leader is Ichinose."
The scene instantly became a bit awkward.
Kamuro Masumi and Yamamura Miki couldn't help but fall silent at the same time.
To dare to confess like this before even signing the contract—is he treating them like fools?
"What?"
Hikigaya said in a heavy voice: "Let's sign the contract. You didn't forget to bring pen and paper, did you? I have some here; do you want to borrow mine?"
Not just defense, they even arranged for quite a few people to try to turn people from other classes.
As expected of Class A.
He remembered the leaders were named Katsuragi and Sakayanagi.
Sakayanagi wasn't around, so the person leading Class A should be Katsuragi.
If even one Katsuragi is this troublesome, then how scary must Sakayanagi be?
"Heh."
Kamuro Masumi laughed out of anger: "A contract? Sure. But we have to add a clause: if your intelligence is fake, you have to compensate us with 500,000 personal points."
"Hmm... okay."
Hikigaya thought for a moment and nodded.
If he could pit Class A like this, it would bring them one step closer to Class A. 500,000 personal points—surely Ichinose wouldn't be stingy.
"Heh."
Kamuro Masumi gave a fierce glare: "Get lost, you stinky man full of lies. I thought Class B were all good people, but I didn't expect a stinky man like you to be among them."
They had tried to win over people from Class B before, but they had all refused with a smile. Only this Hikigaya guy was full of lies and even wanted to fool them.
"You're the ones doing shady things in the first place, and you have the nerve to scold me."
Hikigaya muttered a few words in a low voice and quickly turned to leave.
Sigh, as expected of Class A.
They aren't easily fooled by simple lies.
"Stop right there! What did you just say?"
...lonely.
Hachiman quickly quickened his pace and ignored her; as expected, this woman was terrifying, like a female tiger.
Masumi Kamuro, left behind, laughed out of anger, while Miki Yamamura beside her shook her head speechlessly.
Both stubborn and cowardly—what kind of person is he?
Evening.
Hachiman finally returned to the camp.
Kaneda, whose face was blackened by smoke, looked at him as if he had seen a savior; this job really wasn't fit for humans.
It was boiling hot, the workload was huge, and most importantly, there was no one to talk to. It was truly unbearable for an ordinary person.
However.
Hachiman only took one look, then pretended not to see and turned directly to leave. Let this thief work himself to death.
Today, I'm on vacation.
This was a holiday granted by the leader.
"Hiss..."
Kaneda inhaled sharply, feeling like he was about to explode.
If there weren't only half a day left, he would definitely go up and punch this malicious guy.
Meanwhile.
In a short while.
Hachiman walked lightly behind Ichinose and said softly, "Ichinose, can I trouble you for a moment?"
"Ah? Hikigaya."
Ichinose turned back, startled for a moment before smiling, "Welcome back. Sure, let's talk somewhere else."
After a few simple words with Kobashi and the others, Ichinose followed him to a corner of the cliff.
"Um... today I ran into people from Class D and Class A."
Hachiman briefly explained the situation and then asked with some doubt:
"I saw that Horikita hasn't unified Class D yet. What exactly is going on with the cooperation between the classes?"
After all, he was from Class B.
No matter what, he had to report the information he had gathered.
In a cooperation between the two classes, Class B was clearly taking a big loss.
It would be one thing if Ichinose didn't know, but if she did...
"Hikigaya, you're still not clear about this?"
Ichinose was stunned and asked with confusion: "I remember I mentioned this in the group chat."
"..."
Hachiman felt a bit embarrassed.
That was probably something from a few months ago.
He couldn't exactly start scrolling back through the chat logs now.
"Alright."
Ichinose saw his predicament and said somewhat helplessly: "I know Horikita-san isn't the formal leader of Class D yet, but besides Horikita-san, there probably isn't anyone else with that ability."
"True..."
Hachiman nodded in thought.
Whether it was that Hirata or that Kei Karuizawa.
Neither seemed capable of becoming a leader.
Hirata seemed smart enough, but he clearly lacked the qualities of a leader.
As for Karuizawa...
His first impression was that she was a noisy, flighty woman who liked to hang around handsome guys.
Choosing among the mediocre.
Although Suzune Horikita was a bit arrogant, she was likely the most outstanding in Class D.
"Even if Hikigaya likes being alone, you should still check the group chat occasionally."
Ichinose shook her head somewhat helplessly: "How about this? If there's anything important in the future, I'll notify you individually."
"Alright."
Since it was about official business, there was no reason to refuse. Hachiman hesitated and said:
"But from my perspective, Class B is just one-sidedly helping Class D. Is that really okay?"
"Isn't that just because Class B hasn't encountered a situation where we need Class D's help yet?"
Ichinose asked with confusion: "Besides, is there anything wrong with helping Class D?"
Hachiman fell silent for a moment.
Although he rarely socialized with people.
Helping others was certainly not a bad thing.
"Don't worry."
Ichinose smiled energetically: "Helping Class D is just regular cooperation. It's just an alliance. During exams, we just need to present a united front against outsiders. Not being hostile with Class D already has its own value."
Perhaps.
As a leader, Ichinose had a more long-term strategic vision.
Since Ichinose knew what she was doing, he couldn't say much, though it felt a bit foolish.
If it were him, he would definitely demand compensation from Class D.
"By the way, Hikigaya, close your eyes."
Just then, Ichinose suddenly spoke.
"Eh?"
Hachiman was stunned and asked with confusion: "Why?"
"Just do it, close them first."
Ichinose stood on her tiptoes and covered his eyes with her snowy-white small hands. Hachiman helplessly closed his eyes; anyway, Ichinose wouldn't harm him.
Just then.
The rustling sound of stepping on leaves sounded from behind.
"Is it ready yet?"
Hachiman started to get nervous.
What was she doing?
Could it be that because she saw him relaxing for a day, she wanted to find a chance to bully him?
"Almost."
Ichinose said softly. Just then, a cold sensation brushed against Hachiman's cheek.
"So cold..."
Hachiman quickly opened his eyes. What entered his vision was a black and yellow aluminum can in Ichinose's hand.
"This is..." Hachiman was slightly stunned. Isn't this MAX Coffee?
"It's MAX Coffee."
Ichinose held one end of the can and handed it to him, smiling sweetly: "Hikigaya, don't you like this? Here."
"No..."
Hachiman said in shock: "Did you guys buy this?"
Surely she didn't steal it from his bag.
"Yes."
Ichinose nodded with a smile and unhesitatingly grabbed his right hand, stuffing the MAX Coffee into it.
"This..."
Feeling the cold sensation in his hand, which formed a sharp contrast with Ichinose's warm arm just now, Hachiman fell silent.
"Why waste points to buy this?"
He knew Ichinose's personality well. Although he had some guesses, Hachiman still found it hard to believe.
"It's not a waste at all."
Ichinose explained with a smile: "This was bought for you with the unanimous approval of the whole class. Hikigaya found the wooden cabin and saved the class a lot of points. You've been diligently guarding the boiler these past few days without making any demands."
"Although we can't buy anything too expensive, a can of coffee is fine. Hikigaya, you earned this."
For some reason.
Hachiman felt the iced coffee in his hand was getting warm. His other hand couldn't help but reach into his pocket and touch those cold pull-tabs.
Originally, this trash was supposed to be handed over to Class B's waste disposal person.
But strangely.
He didn't want to take them out now.
Luckily, he hadn't told Ichinose that he had just scammed two more packs of MAX Coffee from Class D, otherwise it would be very awkward now.
"Hikigaya."
While he was dazed, Ichinose smiled sweetly: "Although I know Hikigaya is always thinking about the class, you can actually trust us a bit more."
"Even without the merits I just mentioned, Hikigaya is a member of the class. Making a small request is no problem. Hikigaya doesn't always have to think about relying only on himself."
"Ah."
Hachiman scratched his head sheepishly and laughed awkwardly: "Actually, I do trust the class quite a bit."
This class was different from before.
Ichinose cared about everyone and wouldn't abandon anyone.
Even someone like him.
There was no excessive sympathy, just treating everyone equally.
Class B wasn't like his previous classes.
Ignoring him, ostracizing him, or mocking him.
"That's good. Let's head back quickly. It's almost dinner time. I wonder what new dishes Chihiro-chan and the others have made today."
Ichinose said with a smile, and Hachiman followed behind her.
This was absolutely a perfect class, at least for him.
It simply overturned his worldview.
It even made Hachiman doubt if his past thoughts were wrong.
However.
Under the school's encouragement of competition, the temptation of rising to Class A, and the drive of self-interest.
Can such a class really continue like this?
A question arose in Hachiman's heart.
But.
If it could continue, that would be truly wonderful.